VoIP services increasingly bundled with broadband lines

Broadband providers are increasingly offering VoIP services as part of their internet package, it has been revealed.

Industry analysts Point Topic has found that 22 per cent of consumer broadband lines around the world now come with a VoIP service.

In France, 70 per cent of broadband subscribers now have access to IP telephony solutions as many ISPs only offer high-speed internet connections alongside the technology.

However, only one in 20 broadband users in China currently use VoIP, while a third of US lines are bundled with it, allowing the market to grow significantly over the coming years.

John Bosnell, Point Topic's senior analyst, claimed that over 100 million consumers adopted VoIP solutions as of December 2009 and he expected that figure to double by 2015.

He said: "VoIP has come a long way in a short time. It's attractive to consumers, as it is priced very competitively in terms of subscription and call charges.

"It's attractive to operators, as it's a straightforward implementation that offers a chance for them to differentiate their services."